Chapter 3

Vivian took Miles skiing in Windridge. She took him to Isla Serena for a vacation. She even took him all the way to Frostlight Village to watch the northern lights.

I was in so much pain that it took me a long time to put it together. Those were the exact places Vivian and I had planned to go to for our honeymoon years ago.

My finger hovered over the screen for a long time. A drop of blood from my nose finally landed on the photo of the two of them smiling under the aurora. As I fumbled to wipe it away with a tissue, my thumb slipped, and I accidentally liked the post.

Not long after, Vivian called from a number I didn't recognize. It was the first time she'd reached out in four days.

"Ethan, it's Miles' birthday. That's the only reason I went abroad with him," she said, sounding tense.

I wiped the blood off my face and told her in a hoarse voice that it was fine.

Her tone softened as she added, "Ethan, once we finish filming this show, that'll mark the hundredth bet between me and Miles. It'll be over. When I get back, I'll make it up to you. We'll celebrate our anniversary properly."

Before I could answer, I heard a man's voice in the background, impatiently saying, "Vivian, come on. The fireworks are starting!"

She hung up on me right away.

I stared at the calendar notification on my screen. Tomorrow marked ten years since Vivian and I had gotten together. And I didn't have many days left. Somehow, the years I'd spent with her made up nearly half my life.

The next day, for once, Vivian didn't miss our filming call time. She showed up right on time. I put on the sky blue shirt I wore back when we first got together, and finally took off the ring I'd been wearing for years. It hadn't fit properly in a long time, but I could never bring myself to take it off before this.

When I stepped out of the room, Vivian just stared at me for a long moment, looking almost lost. Then, she smiled and came over to take my hand.

"Ethan, you're too thin. Eat more."

It reminded me of when we were young, back when she'd pick out the few pieces of meat left on her plate and put them on mine. She'd looked at me with so much warmth and said, "Ethan, eat more meat."

My eyes were starting to sting when Miles' voice cut through from behind her, right on cue.

"Come on, Ethan, you're supposed to be a celebrity. Why are you dressed like that? You're embarrassing Vivian."

He looked me up and down and couldn't hold back a laugh.

Vivian just tapped his chin fondly, then turned to me. "Miles is joining us for the jungle trek today."

Miles lifted his chin, pleased with himself. "Trek? Please. I'm basically your director today. You'd better behave, or I'll have the cameraman make you look terrible on camera."

Vivian laughed instead of getting annoyed, agreeing to everything he said.

When we got in the car, Miles claimed the front passenger seat. He shot me a taunting grin. "Sorry, Ethan. I get carsick, so you'll have to suffer in the back."

I didn't say anything and got in the back seat without argument. The two of them chatted the whole ride about the places they'd traveled to together while I sat quietly with my eyes closed. Every so often, I noticed Vivian glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

Miles suddenly let out a pained noise.

Vivian slammed on the brakes. "Miles, what's wrong?"

He clutched his stomach. "Vivian, my stomach really hurts."

She turned to look at me. "Get out here. I need to take Miles to the hospital."

I glanced at the snow covered fields stretching out around us. Vivian was already turning onto a different road, one that followed wherever Miles wanted to go. The rest of the crew, following in another vehicle, hadn't caught up with us.

"Take me with you," I said.

But Miles quickly cut in, "No way, we can't make Ethan miss filming because of me."

He kept his forehead creased, whimpering in pain the whole time.

Vivian looked like she'd lost all reason as she hauled me out of the car. "They'll catch up soon. Just wait here. Miles is too weak for this cold. He won't survive it."

The car pulled away, and I could barely stand. The snow kept falling harder. As I waited there for three full hours, the pile of bloody tissues beside me kept growing. Right as I was about to pass out from the cold, a familiar figure came running toward me.

"Ethan!"